Woman Helpline from today

Deputy Commissioner of Police Meera Ramnivas, who heads the Helpline service, may be called up on 431717/431700; Nari Suraksha Cell in-charge Kamlaben can be reached on 426242 and Prevention of Crime Branch inspector S M Gohil on 429020.

Meera Ramnivas can be approached between 5 and 7 pm on Mondays and Thursdays, either personally or over the telephone, while Inspector Gohil can be contacted between 10 am to 12 and 4 to 8 pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Kamlaben will be available at the Nari Suraksha Cell on all working days during office hours.

Talking to Express Newsline, Ramnivas said, “Helpline is a counselling service and our first endeavour will be to strike a compromise through counselling and persuasion. But if that doesn’t work, we won’t hesitate to resort to legal action after registering an FIR”.

On the need to have an additional Woman Helpline when a Women’s Cell was already operational in the city, Ramnivas said, “Very few woman victims approach the Nari Suraksha Cell or for that matter, even the police stations for their problems, due to various social reasons. Our aim is to reach out to maximum number of victims through Helpline and solve their problems”.

“Even men troubled by their wives can approach us”, Ramnivas said, adding “Gone are the days when only women were subjected to harassment. Today we receive complaints from husbands also”.